Drink Promotion (no coffee!)

[Russiamomm]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

Although Irish coffee is included in the beverage package.

I’ve found that Kahlua and cream or a shot of Baileys in the free stuff is an adequate substitute.  😃

[Drews_Cruise]

Most of our experience is on Princess where we purchase a coffee card .  This gives us 15 specialty coffees and unlimited fresh brewed from several locations around the ship.  No gratuities added.  Our first experience next year on NCL will be different for sure but I’m always happy to pay when I get huger end products like good dark roast or French press coffee.  If we get a few cappuccinos for free from the Haven restaurant it will be a bonus.  It does seem a little cheap to not include these good coffees when the the haven reservation is at a premium though.  Hopefully it’s great coffee!

[sanger727]

1. I’ve never had trouble getting free juice at breakfast. 
2. soda is included in the drink package as mentioned.

3. The economics of any drink package aren’t based on what you have to purchase outside of it. It’s whether what you will drink that’s included compares to the price you have to pay. Yes, NCL charges a large grautuity for the ‘included’ drink package and you won’t make that back in specialty coffee. If you don’t plan on drinking alcohol it’s clearly not worth it. If you have at least 2 drinks a day it is. That’s really up to you.

[coastcat]

2 hours ago, gardening_guy said:

Most of our experience is on Princess where we purchase a coffee card .  This gives us 15 specialty coffees and unlimited fresh brewed from several locations around the ship.  No gratuities added.  Our first experience next year on NCL will be different for sure but I’m always happy to pay when I get huger end products like good dark roast or French press coffee.  If we get a few cappuccinos for free from the Haven restaurant it will be a bonus.  It does seem a little cheap to not include these good coffees when the the haven reservation is at a premium though.  Hopefully it’s great coffee!

If I recall correctly, Haven cabins include a Nespresso machine. 

[valleyvillage]

1 hour ago, coastcat said:

If I recall correctly, Haven cabins include a Nespresso machine. 

Yes, there is a Nespresso machine with coffee and tea. They used to have Lavazza with a milk frother but this is just a simple no froth Nespresso. 

[MorganClark]

1 hour ago, coastcat said:

If I recall correctly, Haven cabins include a Nespresso machine. 

 

At those Haven prices, each Haven cabin should come with your own personal coffee roaster along with your personal butler...

[Trimone]

I can’t see the attraction of Starbucks or any of these commercial coffee companies the little independents care more, brew better coffee and pay taxes.

Look at it another way, why is craft beer more popular than the commercial brands?

[Derbie]

18 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

First, it has absolutely nothing to do with Starbucks. In fact, Starbucks is a new addition to NCL. The beverage package for years and years before Starbucks has NEVER included specialty coffee. 
 

You do NOT have to pay gratuities on the beverage package. Just don’t select it as a promotion. 
 

Most cruise lines charge gratuities on their beverage packages. 

We had the package removed from our cruise, as I don't drink at all, and my husband may drink 5 beers the entire cruise.  It is simply not worth the $200 up front gratuity charge.  

 

[aubreyc1988]

a little unrelated, but if you book via casino, even if not comped, as long as you have gambled a little bit in the past, you can get a past guest rate of 20%off. You do have to pay an admin fee, which is around 20.00 per day I think, but that gets you a "house drinks card" which includes house drinks, specialty coffee, redbull, bottled water ONLY at the casino bar. Also, when booking with NCL Casino, you do get to pick the current promos being offered as well 🙂

 

Otherwise, we just use our OBC to pay for the extra things not included in our promos...It's not THAT bad, I'm on a vacation, I'll pay 5-6.00 for a starbucks if I want one lol

 

 

Edited July 11, 2021 by aubreyc1988

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

a little unrelated, but if you book via casino, even if not comped, as long as you have gambled a little bit in the past, you can get a past guest rate of 20%off. You do have to pay an admin fee, which is around 20.00 per day I think, but that gets you a "house drinks card" which includes house drinks, specialty coffee, redbull, bottled water ONLY at the casino bar. Also, when booking with NCL Casino, you do get to pick the current promos being offered as well 🙂

 

Otherwise, we just use our OBC to pay for the extra things not included in our promos...It's not THAT bad, I'm on a vacation, I'll pay 5-6.00 for a starbucks if I want one lol

 

 

 

I'm intrigued......  how do you get the specialty coffees if you can only get them at the casino bar? Do they have all the same machines that are found at the coffee house?

[Empehi]

On more thing .... Is there a limit to the number of bottles of wine you can bring on board?

Also .... what is the corkage fee and I assume they can be consumed anywhere on the ship once the corkage fee is paid?

 How about juices and soft drinks and water ... can you bring them on board?

[ColeThornton]

Just now, Empehi said:

On more thing .... Is there a limit to the number of bottles of wine you can bring on board?

Also .... what is the corkage fee and I assume they can be consumed anywhere on the ship once the corkage fee is paid?

 How about juices and soft drinks and water ... can you bring them on board?

 

 

That's all explained on the FAQ's on NCL.com.  Here's the link for you.  Lots of good info available.

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq

 

 

[Sthrngary]

This issue with the Premium Drink Package has been debated so many times in past threads.  That includes the fact that NCL adds tips in that we pay if we choose the perk.  Nothing new here.  

 

Now on to the issue.  Please folks, I am just being honest here.  I am not trying to change your mind on anything.  If Bottled water, Bottles of Wine at meals, Specialty Coffee and Soda's are important to you, then upgrade your perk to the Premium Plus beverage Package. I do it every single time.  

 

Is it a deal, hell no.  Should I have too, hell no.  Do I do it every single time, YES. I go on vacation once a year, I want what I want.  I don't want to have to pay per coffee, water or high end shot.  No bargains here, just want to feel like a "Rock Star" for one week a year.

 

Regardless of what we say here on this board, it is not going to change.  I have simply resolved myself that those are the Rules to the Game.  Now let's just enjoy the journey.  Cruise well everyone. 

[Named-Tawny]

22 hours ago, oteixeira said:

You can order Irish coffee with the shot on the side, tada, you have circumvented the system.  Also, I am not sure it was just me, but in the Haven I had specialty coffee every night, which was an up-charge on the menu, but I was never charged a dime.  Not sure why, I was fine to pay for my decaf latte.  

But that's just a coffee, which is free anyhow.  It's just the specialty coffees (Espresso, cappuccino, etc...) that they charge for at breakfast.

You're really not circumventing anything here.

[debenson0723]

I just load up my Starbucks card on my app before I get on the ship and when I want a fancy coffee, I use the app to pay for it, same as at home.  Or even better, on the Getaway, I was sitting there waiting for someone while they were training a new crew member. The F&B Officer asked me if I would like something, had the trainee make it and it was on the house. 

[aubreyc1988]

3 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I'm intrigued......  how do you get the specialty coffees if you can only get them at the casino bar? Do they have all the same machines that are found at the coffee house?

they have an espresso maker at the casino bar. Sometimes it is in the back, sometimes it's in front, depends on the ship. They will (Begrudgingly usually) make you lattes, cappuccinos, shots of espresso, etc. Nothing like "caramel macchiato", but you can get simple espresso drinks. 

[aubreyc1988]

Also, if I am booked with the casino, I'll always stop by the casino bar frequently early in the cruise to stockpile bottles (boxes) of water and cans of sugar free redbull to store in my room so later on the week I don't have to go to the casino bar to get those items. Another tip, casino isn't open much during the port days, so you won't be able to swing by there in the AM to get coffee. I think the casino bar during sea days opens at like 8-9am, so if you are an early riser you are SOL there too. 

 

Disclaimer: I know some people may whine about me stockpiling, but don't worry, I pay for them with my casino play lol

Edited July 11, 2021 by aubreyc1988

[ClevelandCruisin]

13 hours ago, Trimone said:

I can’t see the attraction of Starbucks or any of these commercial coffee companies the little independents care more, brew better coffee and pay taxes.

Look at it another way, why is craft beer more popular than the commercial brands?

These products attract customers.

[BirdTravels]

28 minutes ago, ClevelandCruisin said:

These products attract customers.

Sorry,,, no one is going to book a cruise because there is a Starbucks onboard. 

 

Starbucks is paying the cruise lines to have their stores onboard. Not the other way around. 

[ClevelandCruisin]

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Sorry,,, no one is going to book a cruise because there is a Starbucks onboard. 

 

Starbucks is paying the cruise lines to have their stores onboard. Not the other way around. 

I just said it attracts people, never said they'd book a cruise because a Starbucks is on board. If they had a folgers coffee bar over Starbucks,  which would draw more customers? 

[saltsandknit]

if I had 2 comparable cruises I was choosing between, similar prices same itinerary I would probably book the ship with the Starbucks over the one without. So yes to me it makes a difference. My last cruise that had a Starbucks  I spent over 200$ just on coffee. It was before the premium plus package was intoduced. It would have been worth the money to upgrade

 

[TheSecondSister]

On 7/10/2021 at 12:44 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

I've only been to Starbucks once or twice in my life.  Yep, I just ordered black coffee and it tasted the same as coffee everywhere else.  Call me simple.  😎

I'm a Pacific Northwest gal, live about an hour and a half from Seattle, and Starbucks is NOT a selling point for me. 🤪

[AwesomO]

So, I don't book solely for the Starbucks, but I can't tell you how excited I was to learn it's now on board the Gem. I don't really drink alcohol,but an iced caramel macchiato from SB is my idea of a good time. I was sorely tempted to upgrade to the premium plus drink package so I could have access to unlimited SB. But there's no way I could drink that much to make up for the cost even if I tried haha. Better off just buying one or two per day. 

[Sthrngary]

7 minutes ago, AwesomO said:

So, I don't book solely for the Starbucks, but I can't tell you how excited I was to learn it's now on board the Gem. I don't really drink alcohol,but an iced caramel macchiato from SB is my idea of a good time. I was sorely tempted to upgrade to the premium plus drink package so I could have access to unlimited SB. But there's no way I could drink that much to make up for the cost even if I tried haha. Better off just buying one or two per day. 

Agreed.  You make perfect sense. Allow me to give another take on this.  I also don't drink a lot in my normal everyday life.  I do drink and some times, I like to drink a bit to much.  I just have to be in the mood.  What I like more is to try premium brands.  Whether spirits or wine.  That is something I just will not do during the year.  My wife loves, loves, loves white wine.  The Premium plus gives here selected bottles that she can then take back to the suite for night time veranda drinks.  

 

So for us, it is a splurge to upgrade for sure.  Then add in the specialty coffee, energy drinks, and bottled water. However, if I did not drink at all, it would be a hard pass.  What I truly wish is that the original drink perk included all those other things.  Maybe one day. 

[dbrown84]

On 7/11/2021 at 3:55 PM, aubreyc1988 said:

Also, if I am booked with the casino, I'll always stop by the casino bar frequently early in the cruise to stockpile bottles (boxes) of water and cans of sugar free redbull to store in my room so later on the week I don't have to go to the casino bar to get those items. Another tip, casino isn't open much during the port days, so you won't be able to swing by there in the AM to get coffee. I think the casino bar during sea days opens at like 8-9am, so if you are an early riser you are SOL there too. 

 

Disclaimer: I know some people may whine about me stockpiling, but don't worry, I pay for them with my casino play lol

I second the casino bar option.  I always decline the bev package and just go with the casino drink card.  I also collect boxes of water throughout the day, usually getting a water with each drink.  these extra waters get me thru the day until the bar opens back up.  It's not been inconvenient at all to always go to the casino bar for my drinks, especially since I do spend a lot of time in the casino and the club outside the casino.  I usually pick a cabin one or two decks from the casino and restaurants have been a deck away.  So, it's a quick stop whenever I need a refill.